There's a Girl in My Soup

Not sure why it doesn't play in Peoria, apparently, but this is a very funny, clever British comedy. It's set at the end of the "swinging sixties". Peter Sellars is fantastic as the rich, forty-something serial womaniser. The perfectly delectable Goldie Hawn, playing a 19 year American girl in London, is, initially, Sellars' "catch of the day". But the urbane TV food critic can't stop himself from falling for the dizzy American blond.

Humour, pathos, great script, strong performances from the leads and supporting caste.

It's a great film, and the best gag is the very last line.

Try it, you'll like it.

THERE'S A GIRL IN MY SOUP (3 outta 5 stars) This movie has always had a bad reputation and I could never figure out why. Sure, Peter Sellers has been in much better movies than this... but he's been in lots worse, too. He plays the smarmy, self-absorbed star of a TV gourmet show who enjoys the swinging bachelor life, even as he hits his mid-40s. He meets up with Goldie Hawn, a hip, sexually-liberated young gal of less-than-20 and the sparks, as they say, fly. There are some really funny lines but a lot of missed comedic opportunities as well. To this day I still wonder why there is no big payoff to the wine-tasting scene... after all the time spent trying to teach Goldie that one is supposed to "spit" and not "swallow" I wonder why she doesn't wind up spitting up during a fancy dinner scene. This may not be one of Sellers' best but Goldie Hawn does a fine job... breaking free of the one-dimensional blonde ditz character that she was known for at the time. (She even gets a totally gratuitous nude scene... wow, this must be the '70s!)

Goldie Hawn (The First Wives Club) plays Marion, and was for nominated by the British Academy Awards for best Actress. She is adorable in the part as usual. Marion is a very young American girl in Europe whose boy's friend is an idiot. Because of that she takes off with Robert Danvers, Peter Sellers (Pink Panther). Robert Danvers is a very famous and very rich television gourmet cook - a celebrity. She does not know about his fame. He is really smooth with women but she does not buy it at first. But with all that money she stays with him for awhile, but then goes back to the young boy friend. Nothing great about the plot. If you like Goldie, you can see her at a very young age. Just a silly comedy. It is just okay entertainment. Watch it on television. It does not justify the rental nor is it worth buying it

Dork that he was in real life, Peter Sellers plays the dork's idea of a English ladies man, a swinging bachelor just over 40 but using his money and notoriety as a TV food critic(!) to make time with beautiful girls. Against Goldi Hawn's 19-year-old, free-loving, introspective mod girl, he's just enough of a square to make him believable as well as pathetic.

After establishing his charm with a couple of lovelies, Sellers meets his match in Hawn, who turns out to like him for who he is (being American, she has no idea who he is). He rescues her from a juvenile relationship with a mod drummer, and they're off.

There are some great scenes between them as they work out their attraction with uncomfortable analysis. After some missteps over the attempted initial seduction and a wine-tasting trip to France, they settle into a charming relationship. But the news media misinterprets their getaway as a honeymoon, causing a bit of friction when they return to England, but it seems flat. The movie falls apart when Hawn's character makes an improbable decision (she seems to be kidding), but Sellers nearly saves it with a sympathetic performance.

The nonsensical ending and occasional out-of-place moments thruout make this one good but not great, provided you're interested in the late 60s-early 70s era.

I enjoyed this film and am surprised at the low rating (at time of writing).

It's really a Rom-Com of two people totally unsuited to each other, and the rest of the story people have already commented about.

Peter Sellers in this film, oozes smarminess, as the philanderer and gives a very strong performance. There are some excellent scenes here including a pure Inspector Clouseau moment, where Peter Sellers picks up the cases to take them out of the flat/house - hilarious, and worth the watch alone.

I liked the very late 1960's vibe to the picture, but the music/soundtrack missed the mark I thought (who was listening to this type of music in 1970?). Poor Mike d'Abo sings well enough but he can't turn an average tune into Handbags and Gladrags sadly.

Goldie Hawn turns in a decent performance as the young blond air head. This also looks like this was her first major role in a film, and she does get to do her trademark giggle, which fortunately, was limited to just a couple of times. She did go on subsequently, to make many other films. Perhaps her most funniest moment on screen here, was in the lift.

The support cast were adequate, and the boyfriend (Nicky Henson) puts in a decent turn. An actor who I was impressed with, was Peter Sellers's friend Andrew, played by Tony Britton, who with a small part, played it so well.

Whilst here, another very good moment to look out for is when Sellers's character is on television giving his cooking instructions, which is full of double entendre's, not unlike the TV cooks I see nowadays.

Overall a good entertaining movie, and I'll certainly watch it again.